Youth Movement: Flames Finish First and Second

The Liberty men's and women's cross country teams showed just how young and talented they are this morning at the Virginia Tech Invitational, being held on the Meredith Cross Country Course, as they placed first and second.

Four out of the top five runners for the men's team were sophomores or freshmen.

Leading the way was the usual suspect; Josh McDougal (So., Peru, N.Y.). The All-American won yet another race as he ran a time of 19:20.54 on the 6k course, but was followed closely by his brother, redshirt freshman, Jordan McDougal (r-Fr., Peru, N.Y.) who ran 19:20.80 and finished second.

Picking up a sixth place finish was transfer Jarvis Jelen (So., Sioux Falls, S.D.). Jelen, a sophomore, finished with a time of 19:30.05, while another sophomore, Clint Jackson (So., Colorado Springs, Colo.) placed seventh with a time of 19:31.77. The reigning Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Evan Falat (Sr., Stockton, Calif.), rounded out Liberty's scoring as he finished 13th in a time of 20:03.69.

Youth was not just present on the men's side as four out of the top five runners for the Lady Flames were also underclassmen.

Sophomore Carol Jefferson (So., Schwenksville, Pa.) paced the women's team, finishing fifth with a time of 15:37.33 on the 4k course. Another sophomore, Sarah Roberts (So., Zeiglerville, Pa.), picked up an eighth place finish with a time of 15:46.15.

Redshirt sophomore Reyna Quiroz (r-So., Canyonville, Ore.) ran a time of 16:08.30 to place 16th, while fellow sophomore, and transfer, Jo Welch (So., Castro Valley, Calif.) finished her first race as a Lady Flame with a 19th-place finish, running 16:12.38. The senior of the group, redshirt junior Chelsey Swanson (r-Jr., Littleton, Colo.), rounded out the women's scorers as she ran 16:19.87 to place 21st.

"Our plan coming into the race was to run a controlled race so we could get a look at the runners," commented head coach Brant Tolsma. "I happy with our start to the season, but what we do in October and November is what's important."

The men's team placed first with 29 points, followed by Virginia Tech (33) and East Tennessee State (80) to round out the top three.

On the women's side, Virginia Tech finished first with 21 points followed by Liberty (64) and Milligan (99).

The men and women will be back in action on September 17th when they head to Lexington, Va., to compete at the VMI Invitational.